The Federal Government’s handling of the industrial actions that have halted operations at public universities has drawn criticism from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
Ayuba Wabba, the NLC President, made this call in a statement issued on Sunday, July 16.
Additionally, it is requesting that the Federal Government pay the striking workers’ paychecks, which it claims have been “blocked on the basis of the so-called “no work, no pay” policy.”
Five months after the start of the Academic Staff Organization of Universities’ (ASUU) strike, the main labor union issued a statement on Sunday with two demands, one of which is the payment of the workers.
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ASUU strike, which began on February 14 and has since been strengthened by other unions in public universities, has disrupted the education of millions of Nigerian students.
The NLC demanded;
The Federal Government should immediately conclude the ongoing negotiation with trade unions in Nigeria’s universities and be prepared to commence implementation of whatever Collective Bargaining Agreement arising therefrom so that public universities in Nigeria can resume normal activities.
The NLC is also troubled by the development and the sincerity of the Federal Government in its negotiations with the university unions.
Of particular concern are reports that the government may have rejected a report by a committee it set up over the strike.
The statement read in part;
The Nigeria Labour Congress is concerned about reports widely disseminated by the media both online and traditional positing that the Federal Government may have rejected its own Nimi-Briggs Committee on the premise of alleged disparity between the pay rise allocated to university teaching staff and the non-teaching staff.
First, we wish to posit that the purpose for setting up the Nimi Briggs Committee was to conform with the fundamental principles of the rights of trade unions to collective bargaining as guaranteed by ILO Convention Number 98 which Nigeria has ratified.
Second, we wish to point out that one of the cardinal principles of collective bargaining is the Principle of Negotiation in Good Faith. Elements of this principle includes conducting genuine and constructive negotiations, making every effort to reach an agreement, avoiding unjustified delays and complying with the agreements when they are signed by the negotiating parties.
Another sour point for the NLC is the level of engagement between the Federal Government and the unions.
It said;
Since the Federal Government decided to set up the Nimi-Briggs Committee to make recommendations on the review of the salaries of workers in Nigeria’s university, the negotiating unions and the Nigeria Labour Congress have been kept in the dark on the report of the Committee.
It is, therefore, a shocker for us to read from the media snippets of a report of what is strictly the product of a negotiation between the Federal Government Committee and the concerned trade unions.
Our first response is to aver that this development gravely betrays and undermines the principle of negotiation in good faith as it manifests crass disrespect by the government for trade unions in Nigeria’s universities.
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